We insist that theatre ask radically effective questions. With an eye on civic engagement and social justice, we concern ourselves with where and how change might be made. INNER VOICES Social Issues Theatre is sponsored by the Counseling Center and Illinois Theatre at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Contact Lisa Fay, Program Coordinator and Ensemble Director, with questions.
Our Mission
The mission of INNER VOICES Social Issues Theatre program is to address critical social issues that impact the college experience and society at large. Through the design of rigorous courses, cutting-edge performance work, and meaningful community dialogue we strive to:
- To engage the diverse student population at the University of Illinois and beyond.
- To cultivate critical thinking that contributes to healthy lifestyles and fosters the well-being of our intersecting communities.
- To stimulate ongoing civic dialogue around these issues.
- To engender movement toward social justice
With skilled attention to both performed, scripted material and the shaping of the post-performance audience dialogues, INNER VOICES Social Issues Theatre uses performance as a common point of reference, presents complexities of the human experience, engenders empathetic reasoning, and provides common ground for the exchange of ideas vital to the cultivation of a just society.
Who We Are
We are people from across Illinois' campus with a critical interest in examining our world, crossing disciplines to come together, and reaching across cultures to create theatre. We are undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, and professionals in our fields. Sponsored by the Counseling Center and the Theatre Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, INNER VOICES Social Issues Theatre began in the spring of 1995. Since that time, the program has consistently produced innovative theatre that is steadfast in its determination to address a range of complex and often difficult social issues. We provide an opportunity for students to be actively engaged in creating and performing theatre focused on social issues through four courses that students may take for academic credit.
INNER VOICES Social Issues Theatre offers a venue for realizing original work through live performance. We have enjoyed numerous collaborative projects with students, theatre practitioners, cultural workers and other artists from across campus and around the world—including artists from Canada, South Africa, Rwanda and throughout the nation with our National Call for Scripts.
Find us on Facebook and on the Theatre Studies website.
